Air hoses from the break systems of trailers and the air hoses from the break systems of tractors are generally coupled via glad hands, which provide air pressure and an electrical cable providing power to the lights and any specialized features of the trailer. Generally, one glad hand component (a base glad hand) is rigidly attached to the trailer and a corresponding glad hand component (a mating glad hand) is connected to an air hose extending from the brake system of the tractor. When the two glad hand components are mated, a leak-free path exists between the braking system of the tractor and the braking system of the trailer so that high pressure is maintained.
Once the glad hands are mated, the glad hands are only held in place by the glad hand shield (standard glad hand mating plate). The glad hand shield (standard glad hand mating plate) can be easily moved by a gentle push upward by the driver, thus disconnecting the glad hands. Or, in some cases, the glad hands can become disconnected by rotation of the glad hands, movements when driving down the road, wear on the glad hand shield of either the truck or trailer, bumps and dips in the road, u-turns, sharp turns, etc. The present invention features a glad hand locking device. The glad hand locking device helps prevent glad hands from becoming loose or disconnected from each other. The glad hands can only be released by pressing on a spring lock.
Any feature or combination of features described herein are included within the scope of the present invention provided that the features included in any such combination are not mutually inconsistent as will be apparent from the context, this specification, and the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art. Additional advantages and aspects of the present invention are apparent in the following detailed description and claims.